Rotary engine.



No. 702,624. Patented lune I7, I902. W; L. CASADY.

ROTARY ENGINE.

a lication filed Dec. 9, 189B.) a Sheets-Sheet 54- -1 F J F Z 55 I (NoModel.)

w.v L. cAsAuv. ROTARY ENGINE. (A lication filed m 9, 1599.)

3 Sheets-shout 2.;

a mmiw gg w ff 1m: NORRIS FETEhi LO. PHDTO-LITHD" wnsnmc-Tos u 4:

) Patented June 17,

Y E on l 8% AE n A. m

(Application filed Dec. '9, 1899.)

(No Mudfl.) v

. UNITED STATES PATENT Ornrcnf WILLIAM LfoAsADAY, OF SOUTH BEN INDIANARQTARY' E NGIN E.

V sienctnrcnlmrom forming part ofLetters j1 a'e-.ao.- 702,624, datedJune 17,1902. npplicationfiledDecember9,1899l sennn 5.-7s9.-vs7.i maintan To ctlZiu/tomit flea/y concern.- 7 v Be it known that 1, WILLIAM L.OAsADAr,

a citizen of the United States, residing in South Bend, in the county'ofSt. Joseph and State of Indiana, have invented certain new and usetulImprovements in Rotary Engines,

. of which the following is a specification.

My invention-relates especially to an improved form of" rotary enginehaving a casing wherein two cone-shaped'sections'with valveseat andjournal extensions thereon arebolted together at their'bases and acorrespond- My invention also relates-to certain details- 3 forintroducing ,Steam to act upon said packing and to introduce steambehind the sliding pistons, and to certain details of. con-. 'structionand combination of -;parts zherein the engine-shaft. l 4 I My inventionalso relates to a'novelform of rotary steam -valve and oscillatingcutofting cone-shaped hub and engine-shaft supported eccentrically to thecasing, andpistons sliding diametrically therein to follow the eccentricinner wall of the casing to drive;

valve and to means-for. connecting and operating them and also to agnovelform of reversing slide-valve and to an improved valve-' box forcontaining saidlvalves especiallyadapted to and formingpart of myimproved:

engine.

of construction adapted to myinvention--viz. to an improved packing fortheengine-shaft, to an improvedabutment-packing, to an improvedpiston-packing, to improved means after particularly described with:referenco to the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a centralvertical longitudinal section of the engine; Fig. 2, a vertical sectionin line x a; of Fig. 1, with the-valve box and gear in elevation; Fig.3,'an enlarged;

section of the valve-box in the central'line of the valve-stem upon anenlarged scale; Fig. 4, a perspective view of the oscillatory cutoifvalve and operating-lever; Fig. 5, a perspective view of the rotarysteam valve and valve-gear. Fig. 6fiis a.central transverse blocks.

ing the pistons outwardly, andxiFig. 10 is a and closing the exhausttoftheichanneislead- Zing tothepiston-pockets'in thehub'for forcvperspectiveview of one otthe'apex' ahutmentp The engine casing-Aconsists of 'two corre-' lspondi ng-sections in the form ofi cone.-frus'tums A A each havingia'ysleevea at its outer truncated end's's-Ja'nd avalveseat'a, at

thetop bolted together, flanges afi with bolts,

a at their base oirim ofthesec'tions-serving to hold them securelytogether at'the l central transverse line ottheengine, thus onlyrequiring a single joint, which may be easily and inexpensively fitted.up, and dispensing entirely with piston heads .aud nu ,merous partswhich are liable to become unjtruewh'enpacked' and set up, the"axialline of the shaft and'wearing-surfaces ot'. the cas: ing being thusdera'ngedin awaywhich would I -materially affect the true relationshipof the p gwearingparts' of'th'e' engine.

The 'casin g A has'lugsaon the under sides I The shaftBis madeeithersep'a'rate or cast integral witha d'ouble-coned hub 13' and issupported in bearings O DzOf noveljcons'truc- 17s. iofthe sections A "A?and 'i'sco'nnectedrby I bracketsa with abase A in a suitable 'manner.

.tion and is placed eccentricto the axis of the casing, thus providinglune-shaped spaces a between the hub and casing, through which'areprojected wedge-shaped piston-plates E,

which are adapted -to' slidejfreely' within a pocket 1),extendinglongitudinally through theh'ubandbetwe'en theverticallune-shaped walls a a 'of thecasin'g', the sidesof the,.pis-.

.ton-j'plates beingp'arallel and fitted with steam-actuatedpac'kingstrips'F," fitted in; a

jno'vel mannerto the ends'ofthepiston-plates' tobear at an times againstthe ends of the" casingand make a s't'eam tight connection,

while the pistons are allowedjto reciprocate freely within the, poc'k'et liof "thelhubl.(The' strips F have a beaded side f, whichfitwithin a corresponding groove e in the'endsf 'e of the piston toallow'thdstrips to turn; slightly therein, as shown in Fig.8,and whenthelenbethus employed upon opposite edgestherea v of. A steam-aperture einthe pistons adja+ cent to each of the strips F extends from the Ji'ooa gine is inadereversibl e'tw'oof saidstripsmay faces of thepiston-plates to the grooves e, bearing-surface for thejournal K, whichmay thus admitting steam from the working side of the piston to act uponthe strips and press them outwardly with sufficient force to make asteam-tight joint. The straightinner sides a of the pistons havesufficient space in the pocket 1) between them to receive a volume ofsteam admitted thereto through channels 1), extending to the outersurface of the hub B and fitted with a check-valve G, (shown tin Fig.0,) which has a double seatin the channel and is opened by the steamunder pressure to admit steam to the pocket and is closed against theexhaust, said valve being preferably placed in position to the steamadmitted from opposite sides of each piston, thus being always closed tothe exhaust and open to the steam from whichever direction the engine isturning. the piston-plates areinclined toward the shaft from the centerto be parallel to the outer surface of the hub and the inner surface ofthe casing and bear against the latter, the edges 6 of the said side 6-being rounded with a grad tially-increasing curvature from the inner tothe outer ends thereof, thus to compensate for theirgradually-decreasing surtace Wear and contact from the larger to thesmaller diameter of the casing, and thus al- 0 lowing outer ends of thepistons to Wear evenly and keep in constant touch and uniform contactwith the inner surface of the casing.

The hub B conforms to the inner surface or the casing and bears at thetop thereof against two abutment-strips H H, each of which has a centralbead'h at the top thereof In ill in a corresponding groove a in thecasing, which will allow the said abutmentstrips to rock or teetertherein, as on a pivot, a steam-aperture a in the casing leading to thesteam ports near the valve-seat being provided to admit the steam toeach side of the bead h and above the strips to press the edge ofthelatter upon the steam side of the abutment and shut otf completelythe passage of the steam from the steam to the exhaust side of thepistons. Two apex abutment-blocks H as shown in Fig. 10, have pivot endsand are set into corresponding recesses in the easing to fill the spacebetween the ends of the abutment-strips H H, and thus completely bridgeand make steam-tight the intersecting surfaces at the base of thedouble-cored hub. The sleeve aof the casing-sections inclose and supportthe bearings Cand D of the hub and shaft-journal K, the latter beingformed in a novel manner to comprise stepped sections I0 70 H, and 7 3the section 713' being a short extension or conical end of the hub 13and the sections W, and 7: being substantially of equal width with thatof section it and of very slightly coned or cylindrical surfaces and ofgradually-decreasing diameters, and the sections 76 being of greaterlength and tapering to the outer end of the outer bearing D, thusproviding an extended broken The outer side 6 of.

be kept up to the correspondingly-formed inner surface of the bearings Cand D and make a steam-tight journal-bearing which will not bind thejournal sufficiently to cause material friction or loss of powerincidentto the bearings. The bearing C receives the journal-sections 7c70 k 70 and the bearing D is babbitted and extends from the outer to theinner end of section 7c and abuts against the outer end of section k andis held and adjusted securely upon the end of the sleeve ct by set-boltsd and is coupled to the outer end of the bearing 0 by guide-bolts d,projecting from the bearing D into holes in the bearing C, which preventthe bearing G from turning with the journal. A space 01 between thebearings O and D and an aperture l in the sleeve a of the casing areconnected by a steam-pipe Z with the main steam-pipe L, and a stop-cockZ in the pipe l controls the passage of steam through said pipe andallows it to act with a suitable degree of pressure upon the bearing 0to hold it closely in contact with the hub and shaft-journal, and thusprovide a very simple means for taking up wear and also for exerting anyrequired pressure upon the inner journal-bearing to effectually preventthe escape of steam from the engine through the journal-bearings. sleevea of the casing has packing-grooves m therein to receive hemp or otherfibrous packing, and thus guard the outer surface of the bearings fromthe escape of steam and also allow the hearings to fit with suflicientfreedom to be easily adjusted; The inner edge of the bearing 0 joins thehub B in the line of the inner surface and the vertical side walls ofthe casing and at the outer point of the abutment-strips H and holds thesteam at the abutment and prevents the steam from leaking at this pointwhen the parts are slightly worn.

Branching ports N lead from the valve-seat ct on each side of theabutment to points a at the outer ends of the hub and slightly above ahorizontal line passing through the axis of the engine-shaft, thevalve-seat openings n n being at equal distances from the center line ofthe engine and upon opposite sides of a port 19' in the valve-box P andin line with the axis of the pipe L and the center of the rotarysteam-valve R and the oscillatory cut-off valves S. The valve-box P hasa rectangular chamber p in the bottom thereof, within which slides aflat rectangular boxshaped reversing-valve T, which serves to admit andexhaust steam to and from either side of the engine or completely cutoff the steam in whicheverposition it may be placed by means of a stemt, passing through a stuffingbox if in the end of the valve-box andconnected to the lever T, pivoted to a pin on the casing, adapted to beheld in any one of three positions by suitable means, a segment-arc tand locking-bolt i being shown in the drawings for this purpose.

The i end of the valve-stemhas a sprocket-wheel'v,

The valve T has a central dividing-wall t and ports i at either sidethereof, opening both at the top and at one side of the valve,

said valve is at either end of its movement,

communication being thus obtained between the central steam-port p andthe steam-port upon the one side by means of one ofthe chambers t andcommunication also obtained between the said valve-seat openings and the.exhaust port p of the valve-box P. through the port 25 ort? in theopen'side of said port adjacent .to the exhaust-port, as clearly shownin Figs=6 and 7,.the said drawings' showing the right-hand portsopen tothe steamand: the left-hand ports open to the exhaust. a Theexhaust-port, as shown in the figures: referred to, is. formed in thebase, of thevvalve-box and extends upwardly to an enlarged circularchannel upon either side of eter with the outer surface ofthe cut-offvalve, thus to completely and snugly fit the said bore, exceptat theends thereof, which is packed, a cap r upon the end of the sleeveR,.which supports thevalVe-Tstem 7", serving to close one end oftheiborep, and a stuffingbox screw-cap R upon the other side of, thevalve-box serves to take upthe packing and also to support the stem S ofthecut-oif valve S, thus providing a steam-tight closure for both sidesof the open-sided valve-box. The

driven by a chain V from a similar wheel 11 on the engine-shaft, forgiving constant rotation of equal number-and proper relation to that ofthe pistons carried by said shaft, the steam-slot r in the valvepresenting its op-' posite ends to the steam-pipe. and steam-ports p,-thus'giving steamradmission for each pis-- ton as 'itpasses thesteam-port in the casing.

The hub of the sprocket-wheel c has a slot 11 therein to-receive a pinon the engine-shaft,

and thus provide meansfor shifting the rela tive position of the saidvalve and shaft whenthe engine is reversed; as claimed and describedmore fully in the patentgranted to me and dated November 28,1899, as thevalve requires resetting when the engine is reor less distance of itsmovement, and the up- "per end of said slot receives an abutment blockp, projecting therein from .the valvebox to a surface contact with thesteam-valve, thus to shut oif the steam-on one side and prevent it fromleading back' withthe aperture of the cut-off valve and-securingpremature admission. to the slot of the steam-valve.

The length of the aperture through which the steam-slottravels:is'thusincreased or diminishedby oscillating the cut-off valve.

l The cut-off valve is oscillatedby a lover S affixed to the valve-stemS and adjustablysecured by a latch S to a rack S securedto thevalve-box.

The engine thus described is mad'e'of'parts' {securely held together, isinexpensive ,to fitiup,

light and small withoutgreat loss of power or Waste of steam, as thecut-offwilhonly adi mit of. the use of sufficient steam todo the amountof workrequired of the engine.

I claimas my invention and desireto s'ecure'by Letters Patent" 1.Amotary-engine casingv comprising two core 'frustu m-shells boltedtogether at their bases and having eccentrically-disposedjournal-sleeves at their-truncated ends an engine shaft and pistonsadapted to rotate said shaft 1 and conform to the inner eccentric wallof the casing, substantiallyas described;

2. The combination with a rotary-engine casing in the form of two conefrustums placed base to base'andhaving journal bear-- ing sleevesextending eccentrically there from, of an engineeshaft having apistonhub formed of two conical ends adaptedto fit the tapering innerwall of the casing andpis tons'fitted to slide diametrically upon saidhub and having outer endstoconformtothe surface of saidcasing,rsubstantially a 'd scribed. 1 v

3. The combination with a rotary-engine casing having two conicalendsand bearingsleeves eccentric thereto of a-shaft, a hnb having endsto conform totheconical ends of the casing j ournal-bearings upon theshaft 7 and within the casing sleeves extending to the conical ends ofthehub and pistonshaw supported eccentrically thereto, of pistons;slidably supported in the hub and having the outer ends thereofinclinedto conform tothe cones of the casing and-rounded on their cor-"ners with gradually-increasing curves from the inner to the outer endsthereof, substantially as described. w

5. In a rotary engine the combination with I to a casing, a shaftandhubfitted ecc'entrically within the casing, piston-plates slidablysupported within'the hub to projecttherefrom andhaving parallel-sidestofollow the fiat lune-shaped ends'of the casing and'packingstripshaving a head to fit a corresponding groove in the sides of the piston,substantially as described.

6. In a rotary engine the combination With the casing of a shaft and aconical hub fitted eccentrically thereon, pistons supported and movabletherein, abutment-strips pivotally supported upon theoppositely-inclined Walls of the casing and apex abutment-blocks pivotedto the casing between the ends of the abutment-strips to bear againstthe hub and steam-apertures in the casing leading to the back of theabutment-strips and apex-blocks substantially as described.

7. I11 a rotary engine the combination With a casing having conical endsof a hub correspondingly coned and fitted therein and twoabutment-strips pivoted to the casing to bear against the said conicalends of the hub, substantially as described.

8. In a rotary engine the combination with the engine-casing of theshaft and a journal thereon comprising stepped sections and two bearingsfitted upon said stepped sections one of said bearings being secured tothe casing and the other section adapted to be set up independentlythereof and a steampipe leading to the space between the said bearings,substantially as described.

9. In a rotary engine the combination with the casing of the shaft and ajournal thereon comprising an inner coned section a number of shortsections of gradually-decreasing diameter, a self-adjusting bearingadapted to said journal-sections, an outer conical journal-section and abearing adjustably secured to the casing and adapted to the outerconeshaped journal-section, substantially as described.

10. In a rotary steam-engine the combination of a casing a shaft, a huband piston having cone-shaped ends an abutment-strip extending tothe endof the hub a shaft-journal having an inner cone extension from theconical end of the hub and a bearing adapted thereto and extending tothe end of the said abutment strip, substantially as described.

11. In a rotary engine, the combination with the casing of the rotaryshaft and hub located eccentrically to the inner wall of the casing,slidable pistons carried thereon, a steamchest, a steam-pipe leading tothe top thereof, a rotary steam-valve having a slot passingdiametrically through the same, an oscillatory cut-off valve adapted tothe steam-valve,

and a slide reversing-valve located between the steam-valve andsteam-ports having ports leading both vertically and laterally therein,and a valve-chamber having ports leading from the lateral ports of theslide-valve and across the axis of the steam-valve.

12. In a rotary engine, the combination with the casing, of the rotaryshaft, the rotary pistons, and the rotary steam-valve geared to the saidshaft, and having a slot passing diametrically throngh the same, theoscillatory cut-off valve adapted to the steam-valve, having portslocated upon opposite sides thereof, a valve-box having a steam-pipeleading to the outer one of said ports, and an abutmentblock upon thevalve-box projecting through the said outer port and bearing upon theouter surface of the steam-valve.

WILLIAM L. (JASADAY.

\Vitnesses:

ADOLPH S. GINZ, B. H. WIGGINS.

